Hi. Not sure if this is the correct forum, please point me in the right direction if not. I've severely impacted adjacent rooms on my plans for my layout room by enlarging the trainroom in one corner, then building a cupboard for a staging yard. Easier to explain with diagrams. "Butedale_and_Queenston_SE_cupboard_20161121.jpg" shows the south east corner of the train room. Vertically down the centre is where the trainroom wall would be, except it would now be a backdrop, hiding the staging yard in the cupboard of the adjacent room to the right. The fixed constraint is the 6X6 post at the bottom of the picture. If the cupboard was built to standard sizes on both sides of the post, the bottom two corners of the unsceniced cupboard portion cause constrictions in the other rooms, especially the left corner constricts a passageway to 24". There's other ways I could reduce this constriction, but what I'm thinking is shown on "Butedale_and_Queenston cupboard w curve_20161121.jpg". Instead of building out to square corners and having the 6X6 post in the cupboard (which is wasted space as far as the trackage is concerned), I could use 1/4 plywood curved to 22" radius, enough room for my 18" radius n scale track with the 6X6 on the outside as per the red curve in the diagram. I'd end up with a 32" plus passageway on the left and less constriction in the room on the right... If I used beadboard with the beads vertical, it would look a bit like planking on a boat with a 6X6 keel. A bit of a feature. So, question being, how to curve the plywood. Seems to me its either 1. cutting kerfs on the inside or 2. steaming. Kerfs would weaken it too much I think and it may not take the 22" radius curve too well. Leaving building a steam box. Doable, but a pain. I'm wondering if anyone has any other ideas for bending the beadboard? I can't use less stiff material because it will basically be the wall material...
How about bendy plywood? Laminate a couple sheets of that to the curve shape you need, once the glue dries it should be plenty strong - just be sure to have a ton of clamps so it doesn't gap anywhere in the middle. Personally I think the kerfs would be the easiest to try at first - if for nothing else to prove that it really isn't a viable option. It might just work! Cheers -Mike
I've never heard of steaming plywood. I would build a form of the approximate diameter and experiment with bending the wood over that. That seems to be the way I remember the boatbuilder for whom I worked over 50 years ago did it, and I'm sure we went smaller than 22R on some canoes. We did laminate several thinner pieces of plywood to build up strength, which I don't think you would need to do. We only steamed quarter-sawn boards, IIRC.
I haven't heard of steaming it either, as you say, steaming has been done for boards. Not sure if it would delaminate... I'll try the bendy/wacky plywood. Thanks for the response!
I saw them use Wacky Wood on a This Old House episode recently. It is flexible because they have the grain in all the layers running in the same direction instead of perpendicular to each other like standard plywood. The difference between the 4' and 8' "column" products is whether the grain runs across the 4' dimension or the 8' dimension on a 4x8 board.
